Steve Parish Story Book Collection

The Steve Parish Story Book collection (now published by Pascal Press) and featuring Australian wildlife, combines full-colour photographs by award-winning photographer Steve Parish with fact-filled fiction stories. The Steve Parish Story Book collection has been extremely popular, with over 3 000 000 books sold.

In Koala’s Big Day, a baby koala travels with his mother and the other koalas to a gum tree that has enough leaves for everyone.
The koala is unique to Australia. It lives in eucalypt forests in eastern Australia, and eats only gum leaves. Gum leaves are low in energy content, so koalas spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping. A baby koala, called a joey, stays in its mother’s pouch for 6 months, drinking its mother’s milk. It later rides on her back until it is about 12 months old.

In Dolphin’s Triumph, a baby dolphin learns that determination pays off. She practices swimming fast until she can leap from the water and fly through the air in an arch.
Bottlenose dolphins are marine mammals. They live in the sea, breathe air, and have warm blood. Baby marine mammals (called calves) drink their mother’s milk. Dolphins enjoy swimming fast, surfing the waves, and leaping out of the water.

In Kangaroos’ Lucky Escape, a rock-wallaby helps a mob of kangaroos escape the danger of a bushfire.
Kangaroos and wallabies are all macropods (big-footed animals). They move by hopping, using their tails for balance. Kangaroos live on grassy plains. Their agile cousin, the rock-wallaby, easily hops up and down the uneven slopes of its home in rocky, hilly country.

In Wombat’s Secret, a little wombat learns that the kangaroos have a secret. She sets off to discover what it is.
The common wombat is a mammal that raises its young in a backward-facing pouch. They have poor eyesight and use their sense of smell to find food. Wombats spend the day in a burrow and come out to feed on grasses at night when the air is cool.

In Bilby’s Burrow, a little bilby escapes from a dingo. She gets lost and has to find her way back to the safety of her burrow.
In the wild, bilbies have become rare because they are preyed on by foxes and feral cats, and rabbits compete for food. Now they are limited to desert areas where the introduced animals cannot find enough water to survive. A bilby is about the size of a rabbit and spends the day in a burrow that protects it from the heat. It feeds at night on insects and larvae, seeds, bulbs, fruit and fungi. A protection and recovery program for the bilby operates from Charleville in Queensland.

In Pelican’s Pride, Mr Pelican thinks he is as smart as he is handsome. He seems to do no work, and yet he is sleek and well-fed. The other pelicans are determined to find out how he is able to spend so much of the day preening while they have to work very hard to catch enough fish to fill their bellies.
Pelicans feed on fish, which they scoop up in their large bill and throat pouch. They nest in large flocks on islands or inland lakes after heavy rain. Two eggs are laid and both parents take turns caring for the eggs.

Turtle Tricks tells the tale of a clever little turtle who devises a plan to escape ever-present predators.
The heroine is a flatback turtle that lives with her relatives in coastal waters of northern Australia. Adult flatback turtles are olive grey in colour, grow to about 1m long and weigh about 80 kg. Females return to the beach where they hatched to lay their own eggs.

In Cockatoo Calling, a sulphur-crested cockatoo overhears people talking about cutting down the dead trees in the paddock. He calls a meeting of all the parrots so they can help him carry out his plan to save their homes.
The birds in this story all belong to the parrot family. Parrots lay white eggs and make their nests in tree hollows. Unlike many other birds, parrots can use their claws to hold food when eating.

In Tree-Frog Tangles, a red-eyed tree-frog, from her home in the treetops, hears a wonderful sound. She sets out to find the source but is side-tracked by the interesting noises made by other frogs as she journeys through the forest.
Red-eyed tree-frogs live in leafy foliage high in the trees of wet coastal forests in eastern Australia. They have special pads on their fingers and toes that help them to climb. After heavy rain, males call from lower branches and large groups gather in flooded areas to breed.

In Cranky Crocodile, a mother saltwater crocodile worries about her babies’ safety and sets out to make sure they are secure.
Saltwater crocodiles are also known as estuarine crocodiles because they live in fresh and brackish water as well as salt water. A female lays 40 to 60 eggs in a large nest mound. The eggs take about 90 days to hatch and the mother must protect them carefully. When the young hatch they make chirping sounds, which is a signal for the mother to dig them out and carry them to the water in her mouth.

In Little Devils, the animals learn that courage is needed in times of danger, even if noisy Tasmanian devils can be hard to live with.
Tasmanian devils are Australia’s largest marsupial carnivores. They hunt and kill prey but they also scavenge and eat carrion. Young Tasmanian devils are at first carried in a backward-facing pouch, and later left in the den while their mother hunts. They become independent less than a year after they are born.

In Dolphin’s Rescue, the young dolphin we met in Dolphin’s Triumph discovers her friend in danger. She must find a way to help, and quickly. Then she remembers what her mother taught her.
The bottlenose dolphin communicates using high-pitched whistles, squeaks, creaks and clicks. It uses those sounds to make sense of the underwater world using echolocation: sending sounds that bounce off an object back to the dolphin, which then interprets the sound.

In Wonderful Wallaby, a young bridled nailtail wallaby has been spotted by a hungry wedge-tailed eagle. Fortunately, the Mareeba rock-wallaby comes to the rescue.
The bridled nailtail wallaby is found only in and around a national park in central Queensland. The Mareeba rock-wallaby is found in a small area of north Queensland.

In Brave Koala, a young koala decides he is ready to explore the world by himself.
The koala is a marsupial — a mammal that raises its young, called a joey, in a pouch or fold of skin. A newborn joey climbs through its mother’s fur to the pouch, where it stays for 6 months. When a joey leaves the pouch, it will stay with its mother, hitching rides on her back, until it is about 12 months old.

In Wombat’s Friend, the wombat we met in Wombat’s Secret is told she’s strange because of her friendship with the wallaby. She must work out what is important to her — the opinions of others, or her friendship.
There are three species of wombat — the common wombat (the main character in this story and the wombat who falls asleep are both common wombats), the southern hairy-nosed wombat (like the wombat who calls her strange), and the rare northern hairy-nosed wombat.

In Beautiful Butterfly, we have taken some liberties with nature — you won’t find all the insects in this story living together in the same habitat. But in the world of the Beautiful Butterfly, who learns her lesson about vanity and pride the hard way, anything is possible.
The iridescent blue and black ulysses butterfly is a swallowtail butterfly from the wet tropical rainforest of northern Queensland. The dull brown underside of the wings helps to camouflage this large butterfly that has a wingspan of about 10 cm.

In Cheeky Kookaburra, a young kookaburra enjoys being the comedian of his family. But when he has something important to say, no-one takes him seriously!
The laughing kookaburra is the largest member of the kingfisher family. It is well known for its cry, which sounds like laughter. The cry of the blue-winged kookaburra is higher in pitch. Kookaburras call to claim their territory, which they share with family members. The white kookaburra is an albino that Steve Parish photographed at Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria.

In Little Penguins, two young brothers compete with each other in everything they do. But they take it one step too far and finally have to admit they need help.
Little penguins are seabirds that cannot fly. They are the smallest of all penguins at about 40 cm tall and 1 kg in weight. Little penguins live and breed on the south coast of the Australian mainland, on the Tasmanian coastline, and on several islands south of Australia. Little penguins eat fish, squid and krill, and can be seen at dusk waddling up the beach to their burrows, often in sand dunes, where they build their nests.

In Spiky Echidna, a baby echidna gets a piece of wire caught in between his spines. It takes a friendly possum to pull it out for him.
The short-beaked echidna is a mammal called a monotreme (meaning “one hole” — it has one vent through which everything, including eggs and waste matter, passes). Its young hatches from a leathery-shelled egg then stays in the small, backward-facing pouch until its spines develop. If it is threatened, an echidna will roll up into a spiky ball on hard ground or dig quickly into soft ground.

In Splash the Platypus, Splash and the other platypuses learn that it can be useful to be a little bit different.
Platypuses are egg-laying mammals called monotremes. They live in burrows beside creeks and waterholes and have thick, waterproof fur that keeps them warm when they hunt for food under water.

In Possum’s Plunge, two species of possums find they are not so different after all, despite the gossip each has heard about the other.
Pygmy-possums are approximately 7 cm long. The much larger brushtail possums are approximately 55 cm long. Both possums are nocturnal, tree-dwelling marsupials, native to Australia.

In Magpie’s Gift, a magpie is searching for nesting material when he finds a piece of blue wool. However, when he returns to retrieve the wool, it has already been claimed by a satin bowerbird.
The Australian magpie is a large butcher bird with a rich and musical song. The male satin bowerbird is known for decorating its bower, a nest of upright sticks, with bright blue objects.

In Dingo’s Dash, two young dingoes learn a valuable lesson about minding their own business.
The dingo is a medium-sized wild dog brought to Australia from Asia 4000 years ago. Dingoes are found in all Australian States except Tasmania. They usually have ginger-coloured fur but may also be white or have black-and-tan colouring.

In Frilled Friend, a frilled lizard thinks he is just ordinary and brown — there is nothing special about him. Even the spinifex hopping-mice ignore him as they gather their food. All that is about to change, as one day a huge monitor threatens all the mice and the ordinary brown lizard finally gets the chance to show them his true colours.
The frilled lizard is one of the world’s most spectacular dragons. When threatened, it opens its mouth wide displaying a bright yellow interior, and hisses loudly. Looking fierce, it also opens an impressive neck frill.

In Galah Games, Ernie and Eddie are two galahs that act silly and annoy the rest of the flock. One day, Ernie plays a trick that goes too far and upsets everyone. Ernie and Eddie fly away wondering why nobody laughs with them. When they are gone, the others in the flock learn a valuable lesson, as do Ernie and Eddie.

Galahs are well known for their silly antics. They may hang from a branch upside down, by one foot, while flapping their wings and screeching loudly, only to be ignored by the rest of the flock.

Is Freddie seeing things? There are dangers everywhere he looks but are they real or imagined? Find out how Freddie finds a unique solution to avoid going batty!
Fruit bats, otherwise known as flying-foxes, hang upside down from their perches. Valves in their veins prevent blood from collecting in their brains. Even though they live upside down, they have exceptional eyesight and unlike microbats, their smaller cousins, fruit bats don’t need to use echolocation to navigate.

Looking after a bunch of boisterous youngsters was taking its toll on Grandpa Kangaroo. All he could think of was finding some time to himself — but that meant being alone.
Kangaroos live in groups called mobs. Usually a large male kangaroo oversees a number of females and their young. While some kangaroos in the mob have their heads down grazing, others keep watch for danger. A kangaroo alone could easily fall prey to dingoes or other predators.

Favourite Aussie animals embark on many different page-turning adventures. The stories are written by Rebecca Johnson, a practising teacher, mother and wildlife carer. Based on the 52 virtues, including caring, honesty, forgiveness and unity, these story books also feature type set in Beginners Alphabet and are specifically targeted to beginning and emergent readers. Wonderful Steve Parish photographs exemplify and give added dimension to the text.

Favourite Aussie animals embark on many different page-turning adventures. The stories are written by Rebecca Johnson, a practising teacher, mother and wildlife carer. Based on the 52 virtues, including caring, honesty, forgiveness and unity, these story books also feature type set in Beginners Alphabet and are specifically targeted to beginning and emergent readers. Wonderful Steve Parish photographs exemplify and give added dimension to the text.

Favourite Aussie animals embark on many different page-turning adventures. The stories are written by Rebecca Johnson, a practising teacher, mother and wildlife carer. Based on the 52 virtues, including caring, honesty, forgiveness and unity, these story books also feature type set in Beginners Alphabet and are specifically targeted to beginning and emergent readers. Wonderful Steve Parish photographs exemplify and give added dimension to the text.

Favourite Aussie animals embark on many different page-turning adventures. The stories are written by Rebecca Johnson, a practising teacher, mother and wildlife carer. Based on the 52 virtues, including caring, honesty, forgiveness and unity, these story books also feature type set in Beginners Alphabet and are specifically targeted to beginning and emergent readers. Wonderful Steve Parish photographs exemplify and give added dimension to the text.

In Clover the Cow, a pregnant cow worries about how she’ll cope if the drovers start moving the herd before she gives birth. And dear, gentle Clover has a suprise in store for the drovers. Herds, or mobs, of cattle are sometimes moved from one place to another in search of feed. People go with the mob to make sure they are safe and moving in the right direction – those people are called “drovers” or “stockmen.” These days, droving is often done on motorbikes, but there are still some who travel with the mob on horseback.

In Dusty the Sheepdog, Dusty may have to leave the farm because he cannot do his job. But thanks to Ben’s discovery, Dusty is allowed to stay and finds something he is good at.Working dogs, such as kelpies, are very useful on the farm. If they are trained correctly they can help move sheep and cattle from one part of the farm to another. The farmer will use different whistles and commands depending on what the dogs are required to do.

In Thunder the Stockhorse, Thunder misses his old life and job and feels that he is no longer useful on the farm. But the framer had a surprise in store for Thunder.
Stockhorses are very intelligent and may live for up to thirty years. They help on the farm in many ways. They carry riders over long distances to inspect the farm and they may be used to round up sheep or cattle.

In Elliot the Piglet, Elliot is born much smaller than his brothers and sisters and finds it hard to get his share of his mother’s milk. But a kind farmer and a new friends’s encouraging words help Elliot become the pig he wants to be.
A pig farm is called a piggery, and a pig’s home is called a sty. A male pig is called a boar. A female pig, called a sow, may give birth to up to ten piglets in a litter. The smallest pig in a litter is called the runt. The farm may give smaller, weaker piglets milk in a bottle to help them grow and become strong.

In Freya’s Foal, a horse worries that his mother’s new foal is getting more attention, but he soon comes to love his new little brother.
Newborn foals are very wobbly when they first stand up, about half an hour after their birth, to drink their mother’s milk. They grow very quickly in the first month and soon learn to eat grass. When they are 4–6 months old they are almost fully independent. Foals have lots of energy and each day they explore and gain more confidence.

In Neville the Sheep a sheep who is afraid to be shorn decides not to follow the flock and tries to run away. He finally realises that there is nothing to be afraid of and tells his friends to be brave.
Sheep are shorn once or twice a year in spring or autumn. A professional shearer can shear more then 200 sheep in a day and can remove the fleece in less than five minutes.

In Chasing Chickens, three hens learn that they need to get along with one another for the sake of their chicks. Chickens keep their eggs warm by sittting on them and only get up to eat and drink once a day. The chickens in this book are called bantams. The brown hen and white hen are frizzle bantams. Frizzle is a mutation in which the feathers grow so that they curve outward, instead of lying smoothly along the bird’s body.

In Daring Duckling, a duckling learns that sometimes wishing for adventure and wanting to see the world leads you right back home to safety.
Ducklings freely move about the nest within 24 hours of hatching. Once the mother has checked that there are no predators, she will call the ducklings out of the nest to search for food. They become independent after 56–70 days of care.